Under the Breadfruit Tree: Island Poems - Softcover

With sensitivity and candor, she describes life on the island of Jamaica as well as the people who inhabit it. She speaks of the down-to-earth honesty of poor friends and family. She tells of the generosity of Aunt Mae, who willingly gives away breadfruit, as compared to "Mean Old Aunt Aggie," who won't even give away fruit that is rotting on the vine. Readers meet the one person in town who makes sure that an old man is not totally abandoned and Uncle Viv, who offers plums to youngsters who ask because he can remember when he was hungry. The cadence of the poetry brings the sounds of the island to life. The cast of characters and the universal situations described make this at once a collection about all people and a look at a specific part of the world. Broeck's black-and-white scratchboard illustrations complement the poetry, creating a selection that would make a fine addition to any library.

As in her award-winning Not a Copper Penny in Me House, Monica Gunning brings young readers back to the Jamaica of her childhood. The poems present intimate portraits of family and friends, as children see them in happy times and sad times. There are lively characters in moments both poignant and comical, such as Aunt Mae and her breadfruit trees, Stella-Sue walking like a ballerina to market, and Hilda the higgler, selling her spicy pies. Here is a book filled with the sights, smells, and sounds of the island, and illustrated with simple yet stunning scratchboard artwork by Fabricio Vanden Broeck.